Britain

Yahoo News UK reports: First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon has said many people in the country “will be very happy to say cheerio to Donald Trump” on January 20, the day the former president left office. Speaking during First Minister’s Questions, she said: “First, I’m sure many of us across the chamber and across Scotland will be very happy …

Reuters reports: A blimp depicting U.S. President Donald Trump as a snarling, nappy-wearing orange baby has found a home in one of London’s most popular museums. The helium-filled balloon, originally paid for through crowdfunding, first took to the skies over London during protests against Trump’s visit in 2018 and has flown in other locations including France, Argentina, Ireland and Denmark. …

The BBC reports: Asked by the BBC’s political correspondent Alex Forsyth if President Trump was directly responsible, he said: “All my life America has stood for some very important things. An idea of freedom, an idea of democracy” “As you say, in so far as he encouraged people to storm the Capitol, and in so far as the president has …

NBC News reports: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been denied bail, a U.K. court ruled on Wednesday, and will remain in prison while lawyers for the U.S. government try to secure his extradition from Britain. The bail ruling comes just days after the same judge found that Assange could not be legally extradited to the United States to face espionage …

The Associated Press reports: Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Monday a new national lockdown for England until at least mid-February to combat a fast-spreading new variant of the coronavirus, even as Britain ramped up its vaccination program by becoming the first nation to start using the shot developed by Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca. Johnson said people must stay …

The BBC reports: Scots are to be ordered to stay at home amid a fresh Covid-19 lockdown which will see schools remain closed to pupils until February. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said new curbs would be introduced at midnight in a bid to contain the new, faster-spreading strain of the virus. New laws will require people to stay at home …

Sky News reports: A number of British expats hoping to return to their homes in Spain say they have been stopped from boarding their flight at Heathrow Airport. Two airlines have reportedly claimed their proof of residency documents were no longer valid after the end of the Brexit transition period with the EU on 31 December. Spanish and British authorities …

The Guardian reports: Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the US to face charges of espionage and of hacking government computers, a British judge has decided. The ruling was delivered at the central criminal court by the district judge, Vanessa Baraitser. She said the WikiLeaks founder was likely to be held in conditions of isolation in a so-called supermax prison …

The New York Daily News reports: A weary UK doctor walked out of the hospital where he spent New Year’s Eve treating COVID-19 patients and into a crowd of maskless protesters shouting “COVID is a hoax.” “I’m disgusted but mostly heartbroken,” Matthew Lee tweeted along with video he shot of the hundreds of protesters outside London’s St Thomas’s Hospital. “I …

Reuters reports: The father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday he was in the process of applying for a French passport to maintain his ties with the European Union after Brexit. Stanley Johnson, a former member of the European Parliament who voted Remain in Britain’s 2016 referendum, told RTL radio he wanted to become a French citizen …

The Associated Press reports: The British government on Wednesday extended its toughest coronavirus restrictions to more than three-quarters of England’s population, saying a fast-spreading new variant of the virus has reached most of the country. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that at midnight the government’s top infection-warning level, Tier 4, would be expanded beyond London and the southeast to cover …

NPR reports: Health officials in the U.K. authorized the AstraZeneca-Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, giving the nation a second option for inoculation against the coronavirus. The government will begin rolling out the inexpensive and easy-to-store vaccine beginning Monday. It has ordered 100 million doses — enough to vaccinate 50 million residents, or three-quarters of the country’s population. The government has …

The Denver Post reports: Colorado public health officials on Tuesday confirmed the presence of the new variant of COVID-19 first discovered in the United Kingdom, saying the state is the first to identify the strain in the United States. The variant is believed to be as much as 70% more contagious, but not more severe in symptoms, than previous strains …

The Guardian reports: The UK has recorded a dramatic jump to more than 53,000 Covid-19 cases – its biggest ever daily case count, one day after it crossed 40,000 cases for the first time. Cases have been on the rise as the fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus makes its presence felt. The UK recorded 53,135 new daily infections, as well …

The Washington Post reports: In one of Queen Elizabeth II’s most memorable speeches, she referred to the year of 1992 as an “annus horribilis,” a Latin term for horrible year. During her televised Christmas broadcast last year, she described 2019 as “quite bumpy,” after a string of tumultuous events that shook Britain and the monarchy. While the queen has not …

Reuters reports: More than 4,500 lorries, among a huge backlog of trucks stranded for days in the British port of Dover, crossed the Channel on Friday after extra troops were deployed to step up coronavirus testing, a minister said. Ferry services between Dover and the French port of Calais resumed on Thursday, ending a blockade France had imposed for several …

USA Today reports: The United States will require air passengers traveling from the United Kingdom to provide a negative coronavirus test within 72 hours of departure, the CDC  announced late Thursday. The move comes as a growing number of countries banned British travelers amid the rapid spread of a new variant of coronavirus in London and elsewhere. Earlier this week, …

The Independent reports: Boris Johnson has confirmed that UK and EU negotiators have finally agreed a Brexit trade deal, just eight days before the transition period was due to end – in a historic move for Britain. It follows a press conference given by EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and former chief negotiator Michel Barnier just moments ago …

The Associated Press reports: Negotiators from the European Union and Britain worked through the night and into Christmas Eve to put the finishing touches on a trade deal that should avert a chaotic economic break between the two sides next week. Trade will change regardless come Jan. 1, when the U.K. leaves the bloc’s single market and customs union. But …

The BBC reports: Germany’s Lufthansa is airlifting fresh fruit and vegetables to the UK on Wednesday as firms seek to beat the lorry chaos at sea ports. The airline said it is carrying 80 tonnes of food from Frankfurt to Doncaster Sheffield Airport for grocers including Tesco and Sainsbury’s. Almost 3,000 lorries remain stuck in Kent despite moves to re-start …